The discovery which is the subject of this patent involves a new and distinct apple tree originating as a whole tree sport or mutation in the Lucky Badger Orchard, Bray's Road, 5 miles north of Orondo, Douglas County, Wash. The new tree variety has been denominated as the "Lucky Rose Golden". The new apple tree was discovered in a cultivated area and more specifically, in an orchard at the above identified location containing trees of the Golden Delicious variety. The orchard in which the new variety was discovered was planted in 1964.
Although the newly discovered tree resembles a Golden Delicious tree, its characteristics clearly distinguish from all previously known varieties of Golden Delicious trees. The new tree variety is best distinguished by its fruit which exhibits a rose-red blush on exposed fruit. The blush is significantly and dramatically deeper red than the blush on apples of Golden Delicious trees which exhibit a blush. An average of 47 percent of fruits exhibit the blushed surface on the Lucky Rose Golden variety, compared to less than 5 percent on conventional Golden Delicious trees. In addition to the distinctive blush, the skin of the fruit of the Lucky Rose golden is lighter in color than fruit from Golden Delicious trees which grow in the same orchard where the new tree was discovered. Another characteristic which distinguishes the new variety is that stems of the apples from the new variety are distinctively shorter than stems of related apple trees. Furthermore, the leaves of the new tree variety are darker green than leaves of golden Delicious apple trees.
The new apple tree variety has been asexually reproduced through successive generations by budding and grafting at the Lucky Badger Orchard. The characteristics manifested in the parent tree appear stable in the propagated plants.